Tobacco Documents Online

MARKETING & MEDIA ADVERTICJING/By JOANNE UPMAN Virginia Slims Tennis Is Slammed Again The Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament is under pressure to change its name and instead tap a less controversial Philip Morris product as its sponsor. George Washington University, which was host for the Washington, D.C., leg of the match last week, has asked Philip Morris to name the tournament for one of . its more "benign" brands, university offi- cials said. In a Feb. 13 letter to an anti- smoking group, the university's president, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, said the school is "in conversations with the sponsors ... about the possibility of their naming it af- ter one of their other, more benign prod- ucts in the future." Virginia Slims has been sponsoring the women's tournament for 20 years-until now without much controversy. But this year is different. Congressional efforts to restrict tobacco advertising are gaining • ground. A recent public outcry against cig- arette companies "targeting" certain groups-such as women and blacks-is ; drawing criticism to Virginia Slims. Just last week, Louis W. Sullivan, secretary of health and human services, singled out the Virginia Slims tournament by labeling it "blood money." George Washington officials say they can't ignore the issue. "This is coming at a time when there's a lot more attention be- ing focused on tobacco advertising," says Steven Bilsky, the school's executive direc- tor of athletics and recreation. "The politi- cal climate Is heating up. We weren't naive about the fact that there might be people saying, 'Why would you even host the event at your facility?' " Instead of the Virginia Slims moniker, Mr. Bilsky says, "Kraft foods, a nice American cheese sponsor, something like that would make sense." Philip Morris owns Kraft General Foods, maker of Vel- veeta cheese, Miracle Whip salad dressing and Philadelphia cream cheese, among other brands. Philip Morris seems unlikely to bow to pressure, as does the Women's Interna- tional Tennis Association, which staunchly • supports its sponsor. "We have absolutely no intention of changing the name of our tournament," a Philip Morris spokesman said. "So we fully plan to continue under the Virginia Slims banner, not just in Washington but at our 13 other named events throughout the country." Still, the pressure shows how red-hot the tobacco advertising issue has become in recent months. RJR Nabisco has come under fire for plans, since abandoned, to sell one new cigarette brand, named Up- town, to blacks, as well as plans to sell an- other. Dakota, to blue-collar women. Last week, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D., Mass. ) held a rancorous hearing on a bill that would limit tobacco advertising. The letter from George Washington's Mr. Trachtenberg will be introduced at an- other congressional hearing today, this one held by Rep. Tom Luken (D., Ohio). Mr. Luken has proposed a bill banning all im- ages from cigarette advertising, allowing only all-text "tombstone" ads. The bill also would ban cigarette brands from being used as sponsors of sporting events. The Virginia Slims tournament has run into trouble before. Lloyd Elliott, former president of George Washington, kicked the tournament off campus.in the mid-80s because of his opposition to the sponsor- ship. _ "I think it's the wrong message to send to young women, particularly undergradu- ates in a university," he said yesterday. "To suggest that somehow the university endorses the use of tobacco, even tangen- tially, is to me the wrong message." Mr. Elliott left the school in 1988, and the tournament returned to campus this year. The school's current administration decided to take the event back in part be- cause proceeds will fund a medical-school scholarship for minority women. Despite the outcry against tobacco ad- vertising in general and the Virginia Slims tournament in particular, ad executives said Philip Morris shouldn't give in. Changing the name of the tournament- even to that of a fellow Philip Morris brand-would be a marketing disaster, they said. - "Changing the name of the [sponsor I in mid-course is probably the worst thing you can do," said John O'Toole, president of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. "The Virginia Slims tournament is known around the world. The Cheez Whiz Tournament probably wouldn't be too successful." Another Coffee-Ad Clash Procter & Gamble is furious over an- other Maxwell House commercial, this time concerning an ad for Maxwell House Instant that touts its superiority over other instant coffees. P&G, which makes archrival Folgers, has appealed to the three major TV net- works to drop the ad "because of some dis- paragement of our Folgers Crystals prod- uct," according to a P&G spokesman. The ad doesn't mention Folgers by name but clearly implies the brand in a side-by-side comparison where a spoonful of one brand of coffee glistens. "America's coffee drinkers believe that Maxwell House Instant looks more like fresh ground coffee than these instant cof- fee crystals," an announcer says in one ad. "What are those crystals anyway?" a woman in the background asks. D'Arcy Maslus Benton & Bowles creates Maxwell House's ads. Kraft General Foods, which makes Maxwell House, says it is filing a response indicating the claims In the ads are sub- stantiated. "The challenge is without foun- dation." says a spokesman for the Philip Morris unit. P&G's challenge of the instant coffee commercial comes on the heels of a sep- arate challenge of a spot for Maxwell House's regular coffee. CBS and NBC agreed with P&G on that challenge and pulled ads that tout Maxwell House as the preferred coffee In taste tests. ABC ap- proved the ad, but P&G has since met with the network and hopes to reverse its deci- sion.